September 2018

On September 6, 2018, Professor Dan Kobil was interviewed on a Columbus, Ohio cable news program regarding the constitutional issues surrounding the proposed relocation of the Columbus Crew professional soccer team. See this interview on Spectrum Cable’s program, “In Focus."

March 2018

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Law Melinda Molina has authored an essay, “Addressing the Lack of Diversity on Corporate Boards: Building Responsive Law School Pedagogy and Curriculum,” to be published in the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal. In the essay, she discusses the underrepresentation of women and people of color on corporate boards and the social and institutional barriers to greater diversity, following up with ideas on how law schools can address these barriers through curriculum and in the classroom. She presented the essay at Loyola’s Institute for Investor Protection Roundtable Conference, “Corporate Ethics and Compliance in an Era of Deregulation.” Recently, Dean Molina joined a panel discussion on promoting and supporting diversity in law school leadership at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law’s conference, “Honoring King’s Legacy: Equality and Inclusion and the Social Legitimization of Racism.”

Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law Brad Smith debated Fordham University Law professor and former New York gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout on “Citizens United and the Role of Campaign Finance Regulation in Our Democracy” at Fordham Law School on March 14. Professor Smith was also a featured speaker at the 16th annual Corporate Governance Conference, sponsored by the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance at the University of Texas-Dallas, on March 28. He addressed the group of approximately 200 officers and directors of major corporations on “Ethical Issues in Corporate Political Activity and Disclosure.”

Professor Smith writes a regular column on election and free speech issues for the Washington Examiner. Recent columns include “Americans Should Ask Politicians What They Are Doing to Protect Our 1st Amendment Rights;” “Don’t Give the IRS Personal Information It Doesn’t Need,” and “If $1000 is ‘Crumbs,’ Our Campaign Disclosure Laws Are Out of Date.” Recent controversies involving campaign finance law, including the Cambridge Analytica and Stormy Daniels stories, have kept Professor Smith, a former member of the Federal Election Commission, busy. He has recently been quoted in Newsweek, the Raleigh News-Observer, Public Integrity, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and China Daily.

February 2018

Professor Mark Brown recently participated on a panel at the state house sponsored by the Ohio University Student Senate Alumni Society as part of its annual Advocacy Forum. Each year, the Ohio University Student Senate Alumni Society hosts an event for current members of the Ohio University Student Senate, alumni, and friends to provide an opportunity to learn more about how decisions in Columbus affect their daily lives and hear about current topics of interest to students. This year Forum was a discussion about free speech on college campuses and the issues facing universities as they seek to find the middle ground between social expression and campus and student safety. Professor Brown was joined on the panel by Rep. Andy Brenner, the sponsor of an Ohio House bill that prevents public universities from limiting the speakers student groups can bring to campus, and Bruce Johnson, who represents several Ohio colleges and universities.

Mark R. Brown, Newton D. Baker/Baker and Hostetler Chair of Law, was quoted in a Feb. 24 article in the New York Times on lawsuits filed against President Donald Trump for accepting gifts from foreign and state governments. Professor Brown discussed the personal and public capacities of a president and the various assumptions associated with that dichotomy. The article was subsequently picked up by the Associated Press and the Washington Post.

Bradley A. Smith, Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law, has been crisscrossing the nation, speaking to prestigious professional organizations. He discussed “The Radicalism of Citizens United” with the Nashville Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society on Tuesday, Jan. 23, and the University of Memphis Humphries School of Law on Thursday, Jan. 25. He debated “Donor Privacy and Campagn-Related Speech” with Richard Hasen of the University of California – Irvine on Saturday, Jan. 27, before the Federalist Society Western Chapters Conference in Los Angeles. Professor Smith delivered the keynote address, “Can Fair Elections and Fundamental Rights Co-Exist,” at the Missouri State Conference of the Federalist Society on Monday, Jan. 29, and he spoke on “Citizens United and the Future of Campaign Finance Reform at Duke Law School on Thursday, Feb. 8. He also recently taped a segment on “What Hamilton Teaches Us About the Importance of Anonymous Speech” for Our American Stories.